Wire-type stone-cutting saw

ABSTRACT

Two separate wire-type stone-cutting saws are arranged side-byside with the cutting stretches of their wires traveling linearly across the same work zone; the wire-guiding wheels of both saws being carried by frames with trolleys at their upper and lower ends that ride on rigid upright columns at opposite sides of the work zone, the connections between the wheel frames and the trolleys being transversely adjustable so that the location of the cut to be made by each saw can be set without disturbing the block of stone to be cut, and the wheel frames of the two saws also being tiltable into downwardly convergent relationship to bring the bottom peripheral portions of their lower wheels and hence their cutting stretches into close juxtaposition.

United States Patent Grage et al. [451 Jan. 18, 1972 [54] WIRE-TYPESTONE-CUTTING SAW [72] Inventors: Casper R. Grage; Theodore R. Vessels,jnmary whltehead both of Escondido, Calif. "Meymes [73] Assignee:Continental Granite Corp., Escondido, [57] ABSTRACT Calif. Two separatewire-type stone-cutting saws are arranged side- Flled! Dem 1969 by-sidewith the cutting stretches of their wires traveling [211 App]. No:889,581 linearly across the same work zone; the wire-guiding wheels ofboth saws being carried by frames wlth trolleys at then upper and lowerends that ride on rigid upright columns at opposite [52] U.S.C|....l25/2l Sides of the work zone the connections between the whce| [51]Cl U08 frames and the trolleys being transversely adjustable so that[58] Field otSearch ..|25/2] the location of the cut to be made by eachSaw can be set 56 R Ci ed without disturbing the block of stone to becut, and the wheel I 1 e erences t frames of the two saws also beingtiltable into downwardly UNITED STATES PATENTS convergent relationshipto bring the bottom peripheral portions of their lower wheels and hencetheir cutting stretches 3,158,146 1 H1964 Allen ..125/2l intoclosejuxtapositiom 2,150,381 3/1939 Lansing 125/21 2,795,222 6/1957Garrison 125/21 3 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures @Z' I Ilmn...

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SHEET 3 OF 4 T Eudora R.Ves5s2s BY M A'r'rom -r Casper H- EznsgaPATENTED JAN 1 8 m2 SHEET 0F 4 FIG] BY A'r'rogs I WIRE-TYPESTONE-CUTTING SAW This invention relates to wire-type stone-cutting sawssuch as that illustrated in the Grage US. Pat. No. 3,434,362.

In such saws, an endless wire of considerable length, is trained over aset or group of wheels that are carried by vertically movable carriages.These carriages ride up and down on rigid upright tracks located atopposite sides of a work zone in which the blocks of stone to be cut areplaced. There are at least two upper and two lower wheels in each set orgroup, and one stretch of the wire trained over the wheels is tangent tothe bottom peripheral portions of the lower wheels and travels linearlyacross the work zone to have cutting engagement with a block of stoneplaced therein as the wheel carriages descend.

Power applied to one of the wheels pulls the wire across the stone sothat by keeping the zone of contact between the wire and the stoneflooded with an abrasive slurry, the desired cutting action takes place.

Side-by-side sets or groups or wheels, each handling a separate wire,enables making more than one cut at a time, so that a block of stone canbe cut into one or more slabs of a thickness determined by the distancethe sets or groups of wheels, and hence the cutting stretches of thewires trained thereover, are spaced apart. Heretofore, it has alwaysbeen the practice to mount the wheels of the several sets or groups oncommon shafts. This necessitated loosening the wheels and sliding themalong the shafts whenever a change in the thickness of the slab or slabswas called for. Making such adjustment in the position of the wheels ontheir shafts was in itself a tedious task due to the restrictedaccessibility of the wheels; but the highly corrosive conditions causedby chemical reaction from the abrasion slurry, often made it next toimpossible to loosen the wheels sufficiently to slide them to a newposition. Accordingly, the advantage of being able to cut a slab ofspecified thickness by two simultaneously progressing cuts was seldomrealized. The present invention eliminates this difficulty.

In accordance with this invention two independent saws are arrangedside-by-side with their cutting stretches traveling linearly across thesame work zone. At least one of these saws is provided with an improvedway of adjusting the transverse location of its cutting stretch, whichdoes not entail shifting the wire-guiding wheels on their shafts but,instead, is effected by shifting the wheel carriages transversely of theplanes of the cuts to be made. This enables the cutting stretches of thetwo saws to be quickly set to cut a slab of any specified thicknesswithin a relatively wide range.

Another advantage of the improved way of effecting transverse adjustmentof the location of the cutting stretch achieved by this invention, isthat indexing of successive cuts made by either of the two saws can bedone without disturbing the stone being cut.

The improved way of effecting transverse adjustment of the cuttingstretch also makes it possible to have the cuts that are madesimultaneously by the two side-by-side saws to be much closer togetherthan was ever possible with conventional multiwire stone-cutting saws.

With these observations and objectives in mind, the manner in which theinvention achieves its purpose will be appreciated from the followingdescription and the accompanying drawings which exemplify the invention,it being understood that such changes in the specific apparatusdisclosed herein may be made as come within the scope of the claims.

The accompanying drawings illustrate two complete examples of theembodiments of the invention constructed according to the best modes sofar devised for the practical application of the principles thereof andin which:

FIG. I is a front view of the wire-type stone-cutting machine of thisinvention;

FIG. 1A is a fragmentary perspective view of one end portion of thestationary frame structure;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the machine viewing the same from the left inFIG. I but omitting the upper structure of the stationary frame, andillustrating the saws at their lowermost positions;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal cross-sectional view through a portion of FIG. 2on the plane of the line 3-3;

FIG. 4 is a more or less diagrammatic end view of the machine toillustrate how the two separate saws, which comprise the completemachine. can coact to cut a very thin slab from a block of stone;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary detail sectional view taken through FIG. 3 onthe plane of the line 5-5;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary detail sectional view taken through FIG. 3 onthe plane of the line 6-6; and

FIG. 7 is a more or less diagrammatic end view of one of the two saws,illustrating a modified way of providing for transverse adjustment ofthe cutting stretch.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the numeral 3 designates themain frame of the machine of this invention. It comprises four uprightcolumns 4 firmly anchored to a suitable foundation and rigidly connectedat the top by parallel rails 5 and transverse crossbars 6. The twocolumns connected by each of the rails 5 constitute a pair and providethe upright supports for one of the two side-by-side saws which togetherform the complete machine. The space between the paired columns is thework zone of the machine, in which the blocks of stone to be out arelocated, one of which is shown in FIG. I.

Inasmuch as the two saws are structurally identical, the followingdescription will apply to both.

Mounted on each column is a frame 7 fabricated of structural steel andconsisting of elongated vertical members 8 connected at their upper andlower ends by side bars 9 and crossbars 10, to form a boxlike structureencircling the column. Each frame 7 has two edgewise aligned relativelylarge diameter wire-guiding wheels 11 and 12 mounted thereon, the formerbeing at the top of the frame and the latter at the bottom. These wheelsare fixed to shafts Ill and 12 which are joumaled in bearings 13 thatare secured to certain of the crossbars 10. The shafts are suitablysecured against axial displacement, and hence the wheels retain theiredgewise alignment and a fixed positional relationship with respect tothe frame.

The frames 7, which can be considered wheel carriages, have trolleys 15at their top and bottom ends to mount the carriages for up and downmotion upon their respective columns. The trolleys consist of a pair ofarms 16 which may be simply fiat steel bars, connected together by tiebolts 17 to form rectangular frames which embrace the columns. Trolleywheels 18 freely rotatably mounted between the arms 26 ride upon tracks19 that are fixed to opposite sides of the column. The trolleys are thusconstrained to vertical movement up and down along the columns on whichthey are mounted.

The trolleys are located within the frame structures comprising thewheel carriages and are connected thereto in a manner accommodatingtransverse bodily shifting of the wheel carriages with respect to thetrolleys, and hence with respect to the columns. In the embodiment ofthe invention illustrated in all figures with the exception of FIG. 6,the connection between each wheel carriage and its trolleys is the sameat both the top and bottom. This connection comprises cross-shafts 20fixed to and spanning the distance between the side bars 9 of the framethat forms the wheel carriage, and bearings 21 that are fixed to andconstitute part of the trolley structures, and in which the cross-shaftsare slidably received.

As best seen in FIG. 5, the bearings 21 have convexly curved bores toaccommodate relative rocking between the bearings and the shaftstherein. The connections between the wheel carriages and their trolleysthus not only accommodate translatory transverse back and forthadjustment of the wheel carriages with respect to their trolleys-andhence the columns on which they ride-but, as shown in FIG. 4, also permit transverse tilting of the carriages. This tiltability of the wheelcarriages permits the bottom peripheral portions of the lower wheels ofthe two adjacent saws to be brought into closer proximity than wouldotherwise be possible.

As in all wire-type stone-cutting machines, an endless wire 23 ofconsiderable length is trained over the wire-guiding wheels 11 and B2and such wheels (not shown) located at some distance from the sawperhapsas much as a quarter mile. The long length of the wire increases itsuseful life. As shown in FIG. I, the wire approaching the saw from theremotely located wheel, first passes over the upper wheel of theleft-hand carriage L, then downwardly around the lower wheel of thatcarriage, across the work zone to the lower wheel of the right-handcarriage R from which it extends around the upper wheel of thatcarriage, back to the remotely located wheel. The stretch 23' of thewire which spans the two lower wheels and is tangent to the bottomperipheral portion of these wheels constitutes the cutting stretch ofthe wire and hence is brought into contact with the block of stone to becut upon simultaneous descent of the two wheel carriages.

As is customary, the weight of the wheel carriages is substantiallycounterbalanced to minimize the power required to elevate them andcontrol their descent. This counterbalancing can be obtained inanyconventional manner, as by weights 24 connected with the wheel carriagesby cables trained over pulleys at the top of the stationary framestructure of the machine. I

Obviously, of course, the wheel carriages must travel up and down inunison. To this end they are rigidly structurally connected by rails 25,and connected to a common hydraulically powered takeup device 27 bymeans of lifting cables trained over pulleys at the top of thestationary frame structure.

Since the takeup device by which the carriages are simultaneously liftedand their descent is controlled forms no part of this invention, it ismerely indicated in FIG. 1.

In order to impart the desired linear travel to the wire, one of thewheels over which it is trained must be power driven, and preferably thepowered wheel is the upper one of the right-hand wheel carriage in FIG.1, where it is designated Driven Wheel. Any suitable drive motor may beemployed to drive this wheel but preferably a hydraulic motor 28 iscoupled to its shaft, the motor being mounted on the same crossbar towhich the bearings for the driven wheel are secured.

As noted hereinbefore, the wheel carriages are bodily shiftabletransversely with respect to their trolleys and the columns upon whichthey ride. This enables the aligned upper and lower wheels to beadjusted transversely of the plane containing the paired upright columnsof each saw. As a result, the distance between the cutting stretches ofthe two side-byside saws is adjustable through a relatively wide range,and since it is the distance between these cutting stretches whichdetermines the thickness of a slab cut from a block of stone, thistransverse adjustability is a very significant advantage of thisinvention, especially in view of the ease with which the adjustment canbe effected.

Adjustment of the wheel carriages is accomplished by jackscrews 29connecting the trolleys with the wheel carriages. One such jackscrew islocated at the top and another at the bottom of each wheel carriage, andas best seen in FIGS. 3 and 6, each jackscrew comprises a screw 30 fixedto the trolley, as at 31, and a nut 32 rotatably but otherwise immovablymounted in a housing 33 that is fixed to the wheel carriage. For sake ofclarity, the jackscrews are not illustrated in FIG. 2.

The nuts of all of the jackscrews are rotated simultaneously to effecttranslatory transverse adjustment of the wheel carriages by manuallyturning a drive shaft 34 which extends from one to the other of thewheel carriages at the top thereof. This shaft drives worm and wormwheelgear transmissions 35 by which rotation of the shaft is imparted to thenuts 32 of the jackscrews.

The jackscrews which connect the lower ends of the wheel carriages withthe adjacent trolleys have their nuts drivingly connected with the driveshaft 34 by chain and sprocket connections leading to stub shafts uponwhich the nuts are fixed.

The jackscrews are suitably protected against dirt and the corrosiveambient conditions by enclosing housings and tubular bellows, and thecross-shafts are likewise protected.

As shown in FIG. 4, and as hereinbefore observed, the manner in whichthe wheel carriages are connected with their trolleys not only permitstranslatory transverse adjustment of the wheel carriages, but alsotilting thereof to bring the bottom peripheral portions of the lowerwheels of the two saws into much closer proximity than was heretoforepossible, so that relatively thin slabs can be cut.

To effect such tilting adjustment of the wheel carriages, it is ofcourse necessary that the upper and lower jackscrews be actuated inopposite directions. This can be accomplished by providing a suitablereverse gear driving connection between the top and bottom jackscrews orin any other suitable manner.

The transverse adjustability of the wheel carriages and, moreparticularly, the cutting stretches spanning the lower wheels thereof,not only facilitates cutting slabs of different thicknesses, but alsohas the advantage of permitting indexing of successive cuts withoutdisturbing the block of stone being cut. The significance of thisadvantage will be apparent when it is realized that often the block ofstone being cut weighs several tons.

Since the ultimate objective of having the wheel carriages transverselyadjustable is to enable the cutting stretch thereof to be movedtransversely toward or from the plane containing the upright columns ofa saw, the modified embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 6can be used to great advantage. In this case, the wheel carriages arepivotally connected at the top to their adjacent trolleys, as at 40, butat the bottom there are jackscrews to shift the carriages to the rightor the left.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention can beembodied in forms other than as herein disclosed for purposes ofillustration.

The invention is defined by the following claims:

1. A wire-type stone-cutting saw comprising:

A. a pair of rigid parallel upright columns spaced apart to define awork zone therebetween;

B. a wheel carriage embracing each column;

C. upper and lower wire-guiding wheels rotatably carried by each wheelcarriage with their axes parallel and transverse to a vertical planecontaining the columns and with the wheels constrained against axialdisplacement with respect to the carriage;

D. a wire trained over the wheels with one stretch thereof tangent tothe bottom of the lowermost wheels to travel linearly across the workzone for cutting engagement with a block of stone in position to be cut,upon the application of driving torque to one of the wheels andsimultaneous descent of both wheel carriages;

E. upper and lower vertically spaced trolleys for each wheel carriageriding on the upright columns and constrained to vertical translation;

F. means forming an adjustable connection between each wheel carriageand its respective upper and lower trolleys, said adjustable connectionsproviding for translatory horizontal shifting of the wheel carriageswith respect to said vertical plane containing the columns and alsotilting of the wheel carriages about a horizontal axis lying on saidplane and above the axes of the lower wheels to, in each instance,enable the bottom of the lower wheels and the cutting stretch of thewire spanning the same to be moved closer to or farther from saidvertical plane;

G. adjusting means reacting between each wheel carriage and its trolleysfor adjusting the relative positions thereof both translatoriiy andtiltably as provided for by said adjustable connections; and

H. manually operable actuating means connected to said adjusting meansof both wheel carriages.

2. The combination of two of the wire-type stone-cutting saws defined inclaim 1, arranged side-by-side with the cutting stretches of their wirestraveling linearly across the same work zone between and parallel to theplanes containing the upright columns of the two saws,

so that two parallel cuts can be made simultaneously in a block of stoneto cut a slab from the block, the thickness of which is determined bythe adjusted distance between the cutting stretch of either or both ofthe saws and the upright columns thereof.

3. The saw of claim 1 further characterized in that said adjustableconnections between the wheel carriages and their 5 upper and lowertrolleys comprise a bearing on each trolley and shafts on the wheelcarriages slidably and rockably received in said bearings.

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1. A wire-type stone-cutting saw comprising: A. a pair of rigid parallel upright columns spaced apart to define a work zone therebetween; B. a wheel carriage embracing each column; C. upper and lower wire-guiding wheels rotatably carRied by each wheel carriage with their axes parallel and transverse to a vertical plane containing the columns and with the wheels constrained against axial displacement with respect to the carriage; D. a wire trained over the wheels with one stretch thereof tangent to the bottom of the lowermost wheels to travel linearly across the work zone for cutting engagement with a block of stone in position to be cut, upon the application of driving torque to one of the wheels and simultaneous descent of both wheel carriages; E. upper and lower vertically spaced trolleys for each wheel carriage riding on the upright columns and constrained to vertical translation; F. means forming an adjustable connection between each wheel carriage and its respective upper and lower trolleys, said adjustable connections providing for translatory horizontal shifting of the wheel carriages with respect to said vertical plane containing the columns and also tilting of the wheel carriages about a horizontal axis lying on said plane and above the axes of the lower wheels to, in each instance, enable the bottom of the lower wheels and the cutting stretch of the wire spanning the same to be moved closer to or farther from said vertical plane; G. adjusting means reacting between each wheel carriage and its trolleys for adjusting the relative positions thereof both translatorily and tiltably as provided for by said adjustable connections; and H. manually operable actuating means connected to said adjusting means of both wheel carriages.
 2. The combination of two of the wire-type stone-cutting saws defined in claim 1, arranged side-by-side with the cutting stretches of their wires traveling linearly across the same work zone between and parallel to the planes containing the upright columns of the two saws, so that two parallel cuts can be made simultaneously in a block of stone to cut a slab from the block, the thickness of which is determined by the adjusted distance between the cutting stretch of either or both of the saws and the upright columns thereof.
 3. The saw of claim 1 further characterized in that said adjustable connections between the wheel carriages and their upper and lower trolleys comprise a bearing on each trolley and shafts on the wheel carriages slidably and rockably received in said bearings. 